Volleyball Headline

Without dropping a set and
forcing their three opponents into a -.018 hitting percentage on the weekend,
the No. 9 Florida volleyball team (6-0) was named the 2011 Campus USA Credit
Union Invitational champions.

The story of the match was
sophomore middle blocker Chloe Mann (Gainesville, Fla.) who, in her
first career start, tripled her career high in kills with nine, had a career-high
five blocks and tied tournament MVP Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) for
a match-high of 12 points, also a career high for Mann. The hometown hitter was
errorless on the afternoon, hitting at a .818 clip and never committed an error
all weekend, hitting .682.

“Chloe played the match of her
life today,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “She really brought her
A-game and took full advantage of her starting opportunity. She is the best
jumper on the team. She looks like an experienced player out there and she
never looks lost. Our ability to hold Clemson to .024 had a lot to do with the
play of Chloe in terms of stabilizing the front-row blocking.”

Sophomore setter Chanel Brown (Tempe,
Ariz.), Jaeckel, senior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington,
Ill.) and redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) were
named to the All-Tournament Team. Jaeckel contributed a match-high 11 kills and
seven digs, as well as a service ace and five blocks.

Florida had 10 total blocks in
the match, its highest output of the season and the most in a three-set match since
Nov. 5, 2010 at Georgia. Senior middle hitter Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield,
Calif.), Mann and junior right-side Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.)
each had five total blocks. Murphy wasn’t far behind with four blocks of her own.
Jaeckel, senior outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell (Los Angeles, Calif.)
and redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) added seven
digs apiece.

The Gators and Tigers dueled for
the first points in the opening frame. After Clemson tied the score at 3-3, Mann
fired a blast in the middle of the Tigers’ offense to take the lead, 4-3. The
Orange and Blue didn’t allow Clemson back into the game. Unroe had a service
ace to extend the lead to 10-5 and cause a Tigers timeout. Jaeckel had a slam
down the line, coupled with an ace from Brown, and Florida extended its lead to
19-11. The final point of the set was a tremendous stuff block by Murphy and
Anderson to give the Gators the set, 25-14.

Clemson brought out their claws
early in the second stanza to give the Tigers an early 5-3 lead. The Gators
finally tied the set at 7-7 with a Wiggs-Anderson block, and Murphy’s ace gave
the Orange and Blue their first lead of the second set, 8-7. The Gators shut
the door on the Tigers with a 5-0 run to secure their lead at 11-7. Jaeckel
found the seam in the Clemson block, continuing Florida’s run and putting
Anderson behind the service line. Another 5-0 run extended the Gators’ lead to
19-10. Brown dished a perfect quick set for Anderson to deliver the final shot,
giving the Gators a 25-16 win heading into the break.

The Tigers came out of
intermission ready to battle by taking another early lead over the Gators, 7-4.
Jaeckel served a 5-0 run, giving the Gators a two-point advantage with a 9-7
lead. Clemson fought and tied the Gators three separate times, but were unable to
take the lead back from UF. A Mann stuff block continued the Gator momentum and
expanded the gap to a 16-12 lead. The teams traded points before Murphy slammed
an overpass from the Tigers to extend the lead to 20-15. The Lowe’s Senior
CLASS Award candidate served up an ace on the back line to close the door on
the Tigers, 25-18.

The Gators don’t have much time
to rest, continuing their homestand with their final match at home until
September 23rd, facing No. 19 Iowa State at 2 p.m. on Monday, September 5th.
The game will be broadcast on time delay via Sun Sports with longtime
play-by-play announcer Tom Collett and former Gator All-SEC setter Missy
Whittemore adding color commentary. The broadcast will also be available on
Sportsradio 850 with Cory Stephens on the call.